Narendra Modi: The hope of young India

-By Virag Pachpore

He is the hope of the millions of Indians, especially the youths. He carries with him an aura of confidence that casts its spell on his listeners. The nation has witnessed his massive meetings in the recent past.

At Hyderabad over 75,000 youth had gathered to listen him by paying Rs five as entry ticket; at Pune the college students and youths made a beeline to hear his views; at Sarguja in Chhattisgarh the janjati poeople came to listen to his inspiring words; at Rewadi in Haryana the ex-servicemen and general public cheered him as their beloved and most trusted leader; and at Trichy in down south over two lakh people exuded faith in him as their savior.

He is Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister of Gujarat, the most prosperous state of India. The Prime Ministerial candidate of Bharatiya Janata Patry. The hope of young India.

Ever since the BJP announced his name for the top post, there has been a sea change in the country’s political atmosphere. Common masses are fed up with the anti-people policies of the UPA II Government headed by a Prime Minister who seldom opens his mouth. The security of the nation is at stake with almost daily intrusion in our borders either by the Chinese or Pakistani forces. The jihadi terrorists do not miss an opportunity to hit at our border posts and kill our brave soldiers and officers and the government just goes on repeating its resolve to go ahead with talks with the mischievous neighbors.

On the economic front, continuously rising inflation and spiraling prices of essential commodities have disturbed the household budget of the millions of middle class families. The devaluation of rupee has its adverse effect on the investments that were expected thus hitting the economic growth which is now pegged at 4.5 per cent- the lowest of all.

The security of common masses is at stake as the government failed to protect the honor of the fair sex. Growing incidents of rape, murder, loot etc. have created a general feeling of insecurity in the citizens. The corruption at all the levels, especially at the higher level—the ‘coal-gate’ scam, 2-G scam, etc. has demoralized the common man.

The masses were eagerly looking for someone who could rid them and the country from all this mess. The restive people found in Narendra Modi a ray of hope; a messiah that could liberate from all the difficulties and problems. They are confident enough about his capability to free the country from all these evils and make it strong, vibrant and prosperous world leader.

This confidence has not emerged from out of the blue. The people have seen his style of governing in Gujarat. Millions of Indians have watched him manage the affairs in his state with so much adroitness; they have observed his innovative ways and creative thinking to deal with difficult situations. They also know that this man is like them; he has risen to this height from the lowest ladder. He became synonymous with the hope and aspiration of crores of Indians who have otherwise lost hopes in the democratic process and its ability to deliver goods.

The representative responses of people who participated in his Trichy rally in Tamil Nadu on September 26 give an indication of the direction in which the wind is blowing. Tamil Nadu is not a stronghold of BJP, in fact, it never was. Neither the RSS has a very strong base there. But the reactions exude confidence of the people in Narendra Modi. We quote some of the responses here that would reinforce this observation:

S Suresh said, “He comes across as a strong man. He speaks firmly; he will not be mute like our present prime minister whose only aim seems to be the first non-Gandhi-Nehru prime minister to be at the helm for 10 years. The Lankans will listen to him. He will get back Katchathievu and stop this harassment permanently. The Lankans know that they will not be able to bully him like the Congress”.

“We need someone like him, only then will the Sri Lankans realize that they are dealing with a man. He will put a stop to it. He is from the same party that exploded nuclear bombs,” said M Ashok, an online commodity trader.

“I agree he will put the fear of God into the Lankans, anyway what do they think? Their country is smaller than even Tamil Nadu and they have the gall to destroy our catch, our fishermen’s nets, beat them up, throw stones at them, arrest them, keep them in jail for long periods, put false cases against them that they are smuggling ganja,” said V Sathyaseelan, a real estate businessman.

S Latha said, “He speaks so well, he has got content. He knows what he is talking about and he looks like a man of action. He will act immediately even if it means sending a war ship to Lanka to get our fishermen back”.

Herold Laski, a famous British political thinker said that a true leader leads the masses and refuses to be led by the masses. Narendra Modi has exhibited this trait of leadership in the recent past. In his massive public meetings he made people subscribe to his views expanding his own self to encompass the masses that came to hear him.

His creative approach and thinking has won him accolades from the people. His attacks on his political rivals are well within the limits of the democratic polity. He has never crossed the limit in criticizing his opponents Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi included. 

With ever increasing participation of masses in his meetings, with public pinning their hopes in him and looking in him the leader who will deliver the country from all the troubles, Narendra Modi has emerged as a true public leader. The massive attendance at his public meeting is giving sleepless nights to his political rivals. But they must be more disturbed with his growing popularity among the Muslims who until now are the sole propriety of the Congress party as vote bank.

The Muslims are openly coming out in his support everywhere. In Delhi, where he is scheduled to address a public meeting on Sunday, Muslims were seen distributing leaflets for his meeting at the Fatehpuri Mosque after the Friday prayers.

This, in spite of the allegations leveled against him for his alleged role in Gujarat riots; the efforts of the government agencies to implicate him in false cases and use all government machinery to harass him.

The juggernaut of Narendra Modi has rolled out on the road to power and will not stop till it reach the throne. And as he moves towards this goal, the masses see in him a message and a messiah who will deliver them and liberate them from the Congress tyranny. 

Narendra Modi is no longer an individual political leader now. He has become a mass movement, a movement that will change the future course of Indian and global politics.